We rely on our smartphones so much, that breaking your iPhone screen can be a big disaster. No matter how attentive and careful we are, we’ve all dropped our iPhone at one time or another. Most of the times the iPhone is fine but, unfortunately, now and then the screen can get cracked.

Not knowing what to do when you are facing a broken iPhone screen can lead to spur of the moment decisions that you might regret. That is why I have decided to clarify your options for you. These can be split into two main options – repair your broken iPhone, or replace it.

Option 1. Repair your broken iPhone

If you break your iPhone screen it is possible to replace it. At Lovefone, it’s what we do as a business. We offer three simple services and our repairs come with a one-year performance warranty, meaning that if the part is faulty within this time, we’ll replace the part for free. The repair cost depends on your iPhone model.

If you own an iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C that needs the screen replaced, you can make it look like new for £169 in 30 minutes.

For an iPhone 5, you will have to pay £109 to get a new front screen. Prices drop as the model gets older, so you have to pay only £69 for a new iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S screen. The old iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS can get a new front cover for only £39.

There are several benefits of repairing your device. You don’t have to deal with the hassle of setting up a new device and transferring all of your data across. It is also likely to be cheaper than replacing it. In addition, the resale value of your device is much higher with a working screen. However, you do still have several good options if you decide to replace your device.

Option 2. Replace your broken iPhone

If you don’t want to repair your broken iPhone, you have a few other options:

Replace it with a refurbished one

You can take your broken iPhone to the Apple store, and they will replace it with a refurbished one. You have to book a Genius Bar appointment (with available slots in the next days or weeks, depending on the period of the year). In order to replace your broken iPhone, you will have to pay less than £200 for a refurbished iPhone 5, £139 for an iPhone 4S, £119 for an iPhone 4 and £100 for an iPhone 3GS. For all of these models, the price is higher than for a repair.

Buy a new one

Buying a new device isn’t cheap, but it does mean you get a completely new device, and it could be your chance to upgrade. Even if you do purchase a new device, we’d recommend a repair for your old one, as you can then sell it on one of the many recycling companies such as Fonebank. You can pick up a new iPhone 5S for £549, a new iPhone 5C for £469 and a new iPhone 4S for £349 from the Apple Retail Store. For older models, try third party stores, as Apple don’t sell them any more.

Conclusions

As you can see, you’ve got a number of options when you’ve broken your iPhone screen (beyond just grinning and bearing it). Most of the time it makes financial sense to repair the device – whether you also buy a replacement device or not, as you can then resell the device after you’ve finished with it.

However, replacing your broken iPhone should be considered when the phone requires more than three or four major repairs, when it is completely dead or has suffered water damage.

I hope this article gives you a better idea of what to do when you are facing a broken iPhone screen, and offers you solutions to consider. If you've ever broken your iPhone screen, let us know what you did. Share your experience with us and win a genuine leather iPad case!